Sonorous body and process of making the same.



M. L; SEVERY.

SONOROUS BODY AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.26. I913.

1,144,435; Patented June 29, 1915.

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WITNESSES.- IN VEN TOR.

THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOTG-LlTHO-. WASHINGTON, D. C.

UNITE .5

STAT Pei vuse.v

MELVIN L. SEVERY, 0F ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO GI-IORALCELO COMPANY, 015 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF' MAINE.

SONOROU'S BODY AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME.

To all whom it may concern:

'Be it known that I, MELVIN L. SEvnnY, of Arlington Heights, in the county of MiddleseX and State of li/las'sachusetts, have in vented certain new and useful Improvements in Sonorous Bodies and the Process of Making the Same, of which the following is a specification. i

This invention relates :to an improvement in sonorous bodies and the process of making the same. i v

The object of the invention is to provide a sonorous body, more particularly a tuned sonorous body, of fibrous material, which shall have the advantages of metallic so-- v norous bodies without their attendant disadvantages, which shall be constant in pitch and quality under varying conditions, and to provide a convenient and economical process of producing the same. 7

The invention contemplates the provision of a fibrous sonorous body, preferably of wood, which is particularly adapted for use as reeds, and for other tuned vibratory bodies, said body being impregnated with a compound which renders the wood impervious to water, climatic or temperature changes, so that the body does not alter its pitch by virtue of them, or through the lapse of time, or through any fortuitous pressure to which it need be subjected.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a plan view of a reed made according to this invention, and Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

As illustrated in said drawing, the reed comprises a fibrous body 10, preferably a board of the proper dimensions according to the tone which is intended to be produced thereby.

The process is conveniently carried out by thoroughly drying the fibrous body, then confining it in a suitable air-tight receiver,

' ture and climatic changes. reeds made according to this invention is Specification of Iietters Patent. P r tal June 29, 1915, Application filed August 26, 1913. Serial No. 786,665.

caused to enter the interstices of the fibrous material throughout the entire body thereof. As ordinarily applied to the exterior of fibrous bodies, the shellac entraps air and moisture. lVith the present process all air and moisture are eliminated from the body.

When treating the material I prefer to allow it to remain in the liquid several hours, and then to remove it and place it in an oven to bake, at atemperature of about 210 F. for from 12 to 24: hours. After the impregnated material has been thoroughly baked, it is,for some purposes, pressed to compress the entire mass uniformly. The effect of this pressing operation is to render the tone of the body,when vibrated, more brilliant, that is, more nearly like metal and having greater density of tone. But the material has been found to give very good results even when the pressing operation-has been omitted. g

In some sonorousv bodies: composed of metal, such as reeds for example, the 'harmonies relative to the fundamentals are dissonant and persistant, whereas in wooden reeds the harmonics, although dissonant, are evanescent, that is, they soon die out or disappear. In wooden reeds, as heretofore constructed, the tone changes with the lapse of time, and it is also affected by tempera- The tone of the unaffected by temperature, moisture, or other climatic changes, or by the lapse of time, or the energy of vibration, and their harmonics are not persistant like those of metal reeds, though the tone is very brilliant. In fact these reeds have all of the desirable characteristics of a metal reed, as brilliancy, permanency, etc., without its undesirable qualities. Furthermore, by this process soft and comparatively-cheap woods may be employed in place of the hard and expensive woods heretofore used, thus greatly reducing the cost of manufacture, and also enhancing the beauty of the re sulting article.

When the reed is intended for use in a musical instrument wherein sonorous bodies are electromagnetically vibrated, it is provided with a strip of magnetic material 12, which constitutes an armature for the electromagnet by which the body is vibrated. This armature, however, forms no part of this invention. A sonorous body made according to this invention is adapted for various other uses Without the armature.

When the vibrations are energetic, as for example those produced by magnetism, the tone of an ordinary reed is altered, Whereas in the reed made according to this invention no change in tone is produced by the energetic vibrations.

In the claims I shall use the term tuned sonorous body to define a body tuned to produce a definite musical tone When vibrating freely. This term is used specifically to distinguish from sounding-boards and the like, which respond only by vibrating With an impressed vibration imposed upon them by the vibration of an associated sonorous body. The fundamental desirable characteristics in the two cases are consequently very different. I shall also use the term tone stabilizing medium in the claims to define a medium or agency Which When associated with a fibrous sonorous body or blank in the manner described, so affects that body as to stabilize the tone produced thereby as to quality and pitch under varying conditions of temperature and humidity, and prevents deterioration or change of such body even after a considerable lapse of time.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim is 1. A tuned sonorous body comprising, in combination, a fibrous blank, and a tonestabilizing medium filling the pores ofsaid blank.

2. A tuned sonorous body comprising, in combination, a Wooden blank, and a tonestabilizing medium filling the pores of said blank.

3. A. tuned sonorous body comprising, in

combination, a Wooden blank of suitable form, and a filling of shellac in the pores of said blank.

4. A tuned sonorous body comprising a compressed wooden blank, and a tone-stabilizing medium occluded in the spaces be tween adjacent fibers of said blank.

5. A tuned sonorous body comprising a compressed Wooden blank, and shellac occluded in the spaces between adjacent fibers of said blank.

6. The method of producing a tuned sonorous body, Which consists in forming awooden blank, then impregnating the same with a tone-stabilizing medium, and finally compressing said blank.

7. The method of producing a tuned sonorous body, which consists in forming a Wooden blank, impregnating the same with a tonestabilizing medium, subjecting the impregnated blank to heat, and finally compressing said blank.

8. The method of producing a tuned sonorous body, Which consists in forming a Wooden blank, impregnating the same With shellac, subjecting the impregnated blank to heat, and finally compressing said blank.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature in the presence of tWo Witnesses.

MELVIN L. SEVERY.

Witnesses:

EDWARD S. Cnoonnrr, VILLIAM J. SPERL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Gommissionerl of Patents,

Washington, I). 0. 

